What did Taylor Blaha do? Iowa mom sentenced to 50 years in prison over newborn's murder

Taylor Blaha, a 24-year-old mother from Iowa, has been sentenced to 50 years in jail for the murder of her newborn daughter. Her 31-year-old boyfriend, Brandon Thoma, has also been convicted in connection with the crime. The incident occurred on November 16, 2022, when Blaha gave birth to her daughter at the couple’s home. Shortly after the birth, Blaha drowned her newborn with the assistance of her boyfriend, and the latter assisted in wiping out the evidence.

Taylor Blaha and Brandon Thoma were both charged in connection with the murder. Blaha was initially charged with first-degree murder, to which she pleaded not guilty. However, on Friday, August 18, 2023, Taylor Blaha changed her plea to guilty of second-degree murder charges as part of a plea agreement.

Blaha was sentenced to 50 years in prison with parole eligibility after 35 years. Thoma has already pleaded guilty to child endangerment resulting in death and abuse of a corpse, and will be sentenced in September.

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Taylor Blaha was on methamphetamine during her delivery

More details have emerged regarding the circumstances that led to the heinous murder of the newborn. As per Taylor Blaha, she was using methamphetamine prior and during the delivery of her child, the latter instance in order to soothe the pain of childbirth. Both Blaha and her boyfriend were afraid that if authorities were to discover this, they would lose custody of their firstborn son.

Taylor Blaha discovered in April 2022 that she was pregnant. The couple had no intentions of keeping the child, having initially thought of giving the child up for adoption. Their cellphone records also indicate that they were considering inducing a miscarriage.

Ultimately, their daughter, whom they named Kayleen, was born healthy. Not wanting to keep the child, the couple allegedly kept a portion of the umbilical cord as a memento and thereafter drowned the child. Taylor Blaha admitted to the following in court as part of her plea agreement:

“On Nov. 16, 2022, in Webster County, Iowa, I gave birth in my apartment to a baby girl. She was born alive…Around the time she was born, I was using methamphetamine. Brandon Thoma convinced me that if DHS found out about my meth use, they would take my son from me and I would never see him again. He convinced me that the only way out of this was to drown the baby in the bathtub. He told me what to do and how to do it. When I tried to take my hands off her, he would put my hands back on her and encourage me to keep going. She died as a result.”

After the newborn lost her life, the couple admitted to the authorities that they wrapped the body in black garbage backs, stuffed it into a backpack and Thoma later disposed of it.

Authorities learned of the death on November 22, 2023, and began their investigation into the incident. Both parents of Kayleen have now pleaded guilty to their crime.